Small Town Wonder
by itsabrazzledazzleday
Summary: Giselle O'Reilly lost her entire family to a car accident when she was very young. Now, it's 5 years after the accident, and she's facing her toughest challenge yet; on the run from her violent and abusive foster family, the Gogans. But, the young girl isn't completely on her own, she has a secret trick hidden up her sleeve. One that might just save her life. Pete's Dragon fanfic!
1. Escape

**Chapter I: Escape**

Giselle O'Reilly felt fear bubbling in her stomach. One wrong step, one broken twig, one bad hiding spot, and she was doomed. They were right behind her, and they weren't happy. She closed her eyes, pressing herself against an oak tree, and straining her ears. Off in the distance, she heard their crackly voices. Arguing. About her. About what they were going to do to punish her when they found her.

But, not this time.

It had been three years since the cruel, older couple Mr. and Mrs. Gogan took her home with them. Three years, of abuse, malnourishment, working the farm day and night until she nearly collapsed, and just the misery of it all. Nearly three years, in which nothing was really ever the same again. It had been bad enough, losing the rest of her family to that wretched car accident, when she was only five, and hated recalling the memory. She had the same nightmare every night. In it, she started out in the backseat of a station wagon, singing show tunes. The next moment, there was a bright light, the shriek of metal tearing and the sound of shattering glass in her ears. And a constant chorus of screaming, as the world spun around her as she slowly faded into a black abyss...

Giselle always awoke with a start, cold and alone. She would wrap her arms around her chest, and close her eyes, letting the tears seep through and trail down her face. She wished it didn't shake her so badly to her core.

Although Giselle wished it was only a nightmare, she knew it wasn't. The scene was very real, and Giselle could never get it out of her mind. She was even more furious that she was stuck here, alone. Yes, Giselle made it out of the accident alive.

The rest of her family weren't so lucky.

In the present, Giselle shook her head, as if clearing away the dust of old, hurtful memories. She looked up at the tree next to her, and without even thinking about it, grabbed the lowest branch and began to climb. Her hands were being scratched raw by the rough bark, but the thought of what was on the ground kept her moving, heaving herself up to the next branch, then the next. Her body was weak with fatigue, hunger, and exhaustion, but she didn't dare stop now. One of them was drawing closer now, there was no way he saw her in her protection of oak leaves, but he was walking in that general direction. One of Mr. and Mrs. Gogan's sons, no telling which one, he wasn't close enough, calling out in a creepy call. "_Ellie...Ellie..._"

"My name is Giselle." She muttered, trying to block him out. She started to scale more furiously and quickly, until the tree stopped. She pulled herself to sit on the thickest branch, and covered her mouth with her hand, in case her labored breathing could be heard from down below.

They reminded her of a pack of wild dogs. Eager for the next kill, even more eager for the hunt.

One of Mr. and Mrs. Gogan's sons appeared now, pushing roughly through the bushes. It was Grover, and he appeared from her bird's eye view. "I 'eard 'er come o'er 'ere!" He grinned, at someone behind him. Giselle felt her heart drop into her stomach._ They've got the scent._

"Don't let 'er git away!" Mrs. Gogan screeched from not too far off. "That orphan is worth more than the both of ya dimwits put togither! _So git 'er._" Giselle looked up desperately, but her tree abruptly got much skinnier right above her; she'd never make it higher than she was now.

Grover laughed obnoxiously, socking his brother in the gut, sending a cloud of dust up. "Ya heard Ma! Lit's find that brat an' give 'er a lesson she ain't ever gunn fergit!" The small girl felt like she was going to cry. She was cornered up in her little tree oasis; all it would take is one of those dimwits to look up and see her...

But, they didn't even bother looking up. "She can't 'ave got far!" Willie groaned. "Ellie! C'mon on out, now!"

"Shh! Jist listen, ya numbskull!"

"I _am_ listenin'-"

"_Shh_!" Silence fell on the darkened forest, save for the sound of owls singing a sad serenade to the night, and Giselle's soft, panicked breathing. She closed her eyes, trying to shut them out. They couldn't get under her skin if she couldn't hear them...she was safe in her tree, the years of malnourishment at the orphanage and abuse with the Gogans finally paid off, she could escape it all. It was within her grasp, she could _feel_ it.

"Ellie...Ellie..._Ellie..._" Grover called out, his voice sending a shudder ripping violently down her spine. "Where are ye...c'mon out and play, girlie!" When she still didn't bite the bait, he scoffed loudly. "Pa! Ma! She ain't 'ere!" He complained loudly, yelling over a brush nearby.

Mr. Gogan's angry voice barked somewhere ahead, but not far by. "She ain't got far, now! Git yer lazy hides to lookin'; how far can a kid have gotten off to?!" Willie and Grover both started bickering loudly, but Mr. Gogan cut them off. "Shut it! Listen real good; if y'all don't find tha' brat, _yer _hides will be workin' the farm in 'er place!"

The brothers moaned and groaned equally. "I'm gunn kill that lil' brat when we find 'er!" Willie snarled. Giselle's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. Everything seemed all too real, now, and much too clear for her liking. Her heart began to pound in her throat.

"Yeah!" Grover agreed, loudly. "Stupid kid got us searchin' all ov'r fer 'er; ungrateful lil' orphan!"

Giselle was so terrified with the sudden realizations, as a thousand horrible scenarios ran through her head, all the while trying to listen to the brothers bickering, that she didn't even notice that the branch had been _moving_ underneath her, and it was starting to crack. Her brain had practically gone into overload on fear and anxiety, making her unable to hear the groaning of the old wood.

She heard the final _snap_ of the branch underneath her, and desperately tried to grab something else, but it slipped through her shaking fingers. She screamed as she plummeted towards the ground, feeling like this was the end, there was no way she'd make it through a fall this bad...

Rough arms caught her, and kept her from splattering across the forest floor. But, it was who those arms belonged to that made her squirm desperately, trying to get away. Willie laughed, and put his hands on her tiny waist, holding her high off the ground, as she shrieked and fought back at him. He was just too strong, and she wasn't, anger and the need for revenge seeping through every pore in her skin, draining what little energy she had left. "Lemme go!"

"Ho, ho!" Willie chuckled. "Lookie 'ere!" Grover laughed, and poked her roughly in the stomach.

"Yer in trouble now, girlie." He sneered, exposing a mouth of wicked, blackened teeth. Giselle cringed away from him, as goosebumps did the tango over her skin. "Oh, how sore Ma an' Pa are wif ya _tonight_! Yer lucky if yer alive by the mornin', ya lil' brat!" She fought back the tears, but they broke the barrier anyway. She sobbed, giving up. Her body went limp.

Willie slung her, upside down, carelessly over his shoulder, making her head throb as her brain practically rattled in her skull with the sheer force of it all. "Ma an' Pa! Look what we found!" Willie cackled, holding her tight, one arm wound around her waist, as he carried her through the wood.

There was a crashing through the brush. Mr. Gogan's leering face appeared, sneering at her. She sobbed harder, trying very desperately to release Willie's arm so she could run, hide, get away from them as fast as she could, but Willie had his other hand clamped over her mouth now, and all of her screams were muffled. "Well, well, well, _well_." Mr. Gogan sneered evilly. "What 'ave we gots 'ere? Lil' _Ellie_, running off from 'er home sweet home, now?"

Giselle sobbed uselessly, as Mrs. Gogan appeared next to him. "_Well_, if it ain't our sweet gal!" She chirped, in a voice so sickly sweet, it made her stomach churn with bile. "Lookie what our boys found, Pa, lil' _Ellie_, hidin' out in the scary ol' woods!"

"Hidin' in a tree." Grover grinned, yanking roughly at Giselle's copper curls. She cried out against Willie's hand, but no one heard her. "Like a lil' forest creature! Lil' brat fell out, almost died, if we hadn't saved 'er hide jus' in time!"

Mr. Gogan's evil, beady black eyes glowed in the dim forest, and the little light made his face even more frightening. "Is that so?" He snarled. One rough hand grabbed a hold tight of her hair, pulling so hard her head jerked backwards as he circled her, pulling her to look right into his face, sobbing and muffled. "Ungrateful lil' brat! We take ya in, give ya a place in our happy lil' home, and this is how ya repay us? Runnin' off, now?" She shook her head, and he jerked her curls, roughly. "Yer lucky I don't slit yer throat right now!" He roared, spraying spit in her face. "But, ya ain't that lucky! Yer gunn live, and yer gunn git the beatin' of yer life!"

"Put 'er down, boys!" Mrs. Gogan snapped. Mr. Gogan released her, and so did Willie. She hit the floor on her back, sobbing and shaking. Her whole body was throbbing with pain, and she couldn't move. Couldn't run away, flee the monsters above her. In fact, she was unable to breathe because of the sobs shaking her lungs so violently. "Poor lil' _Ellie_." Mrs. Gogan growled in the girl's direction. "Sobbin' 'er eyes out! Look at that, boys!" She laughed wickedly, and faked a caring tone. "Poor lil' _baby_." She spat, and kicked her in the ribs. A searing pain split her stomach in two, and she rolled over, crying.

Suddenly, there was a loud roar, shaking the trees, and the ground underneath the shaking girl. The Gogans looked around, panicked, looking scared for the first time since she had known them. "W-wha was that?" Mrs. Gogan stammered.

"Boys!" Mr. Gogan commanded. "Grab the brat! Let's git outta 'ere!" The Gogan brothers chuckled, and Willie grabbed a hold of her again, dragging her off the ground.

Giselle fought back, even weak and hurt. He got her halfway off the ground, trying to drag her the rest of the way up. "No!" She didn't give up, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Don't touch me!" She sobbed, and turned her head to the sky, quite desperately. "_Help me_! _Help, __Elliott, help_!"

"Shut it!" Mr. Gogan snarled, smacking her across the face. She stumbled to the ground, and Willie grabbed a hold of her, picking her up and holding her, tightly. "No one can 'ear ya out 'ere, ya lil' brat! Yer stuck with _us_, now!" Giselle looked at him, tears overflowing onto her cheeks in a cascade, dead in his beady brown eyes.

"_You're_ _wrong_!" She screamed, sobbing. "_Elliott, please_!" He just laughed at her. Her heart thumped in overtime in her chest, and terror flooded her veins.

But, then, there was a _swoosh_, and all of them hit the ground. Giselle's knees burned, and she rolled over just in time to see a green dragon, scooping her into the safety of its arms. "Elliott?" She whispered. There was a soft, reassuring clicking in her ear.

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she blacked out.


	2. Lonely

Giselle's eyelids fluttered open, and she was feeling groggy and lightheaded. Bright sunlight streamed into her eyes, making her blink rapidly, attempting to adjust. Wind whistled through the tall, sweet meadow grass under her head, and the leaves danced carelessly on their branches with the symphony of the breeze.

She inhaled the beautiful scent of wildflowers all around her, trying to get her brain to stop reeling so she could figure out where she was, and how she got there. Her scalp burned, and slowly things came into focus. Giselle sat straight up, so fast her head spun rapidly. "Elliott?!" She panicked, heart pounding painfully against her ribs.

Then, her dragon was there, an armful full of apples and looking concerned. Relief flooded her body, and she jumped up to hug his round belly. "I can't believe we did that!" She squealed. Then, her eyes simmered with tears, spotting a hand shaped bruise blossoming on the pale skin of her left arm. She let out a sob. "Oh, they almost had me!" She whispered, in horror. "I was so close-thank goodness you were, there, Elliott! Oh, I was terrified!" She looked behind her absently, recognizing the types of trees immediately. The feeling of euphoria faded slightly, and sadness remained. "We can't be too far from the farm, are we?" She asked, in a whisper.

Elliott shook his head sadly, and Giselle ran a hand through her messy array of copper curls. Anxiety gnawed at her stomach, and she bit her nail absently. "There's got to be some sort of...town, or village or even a big city for me to hide in." She muttered to herself, quite absently. "Any sort of place little place will do, as long as it's _away _from here." She spared the woods a glance behind her.

Not too far off, was the farm tucked in the hills, with the cruel Gogans who were ready to drag her back kicking and screaming at any possible moment. There was no time to lose, and they couldn't afford to hang around while they were still so _close_. "We just have to leave." She concluded, finally, biting her lip.

Her best friend agreed with her, nodding his head and clicking his tongue in that strange language she oddly understood, and handed her an apple. She wiped it off on the edge of her dress, stomach rumbling ominously. She hadn't eaten in at least a day and a half, maybe more. Inconsistency in food was the Gogans specialty. She was surprised she wasn't dead yet.

So, stretching her arms high above her head, she attempted to smooth down her mass of seemingly uncontrollable copper curls. She dusted the bits of grass and wildflowers off her battered dress.

An overwhelming sense of freedom and happiness mysteriously filled her gut now, and she skipped through the meadow, just twirling in circles with her arms over her head. It seemed like the birds sang with her, and the sun winked at her in the robin egg blue sky.

She skidded to a stop, in front of a beat down wooden sign, with peeling paint letters. She peered at it, the letters swimming in front of her vision. Elliott landed softly behind her, and clicked something in her ear. "Passamaquoddy." She repeated, slowly and carefully. "Hmm. That's a rather odd name, don't you think?" She looked up at Elliott, who just shrugged. "Oh, well. It _is _a start, and I won't complain!" She began down the beaten dirt path with a skip, as her best friend faded into invisibility with a _pop_!

As the day wore on, and the sun rose in the sky, so did Giselle's spirits. With every step, she could feel the growing distance between her and that life of slavery, and it made her heart sing with jubilation. Elliott walked quietly behind her, making her feel safe and protected in his presence. When a second sign appeared, with a small town bustling a few blocks away, she let a grin creep up on her face.

Passamaquoddy was a tiny, quaint town, bustling with quiet activity. People hurrying around to different stalls on the street, buying food and clothe. She stopped to observe the happy scene, but a little boy stopped in his tracks to stare at her with gaping mouth. She waved, but he wasn't paying much attention. "Mama, look at that weird girl!" He squealed, pointing at her, making Giselle frown. "She's all dirty!"

"Timothy!" His mother hissed, seizing his hand. "What have I told you about pointing?! Don't look at her, she's probably homeless, and crawling with diseases." She added, in a loud whisper. Hurt stung at Giselle's heart. The woman glared at her, dragging her child away.

She looked down at her hands. They were covered in dust and dirt, her hands calloused and raw from farm work. She caught her reflection in a shop window, and felt immediately ashamed at her rugged appearance. She smudged at her dirty face, but, it wouldn't budge.

More people had stopped to look at her now, and whispering began. Her cheeks burnt with shame, and she shuffled her weight uncomfortably, avoiding the townspeople's eyes.

Something smacked her on the side of the head. She turned, eyes wide with fear, to see some kids her own age throwing balled up newspaper at her. "Get out of here, street rat!" One boy yelled.

"Crawl back in the sewers where you belong!" A girl sneered, sticking her tongue out. "Nasty little rat! Society is no place for orphans like you!" They laughed, and threw a parade of crumpled paper at her. Giselle tried to block herself with her hands, but their trash pelted her in the side of the head anyway, despite her attempts to block them. Her cheeks felt unusually hot, and her eyes burnt with tears, as she ran in the other direction. Everyone was staring, now, as she ran away from them, tumbling onto her face. It seemed like the whole town laughed as one at her failure, and no one attempted to help her to her feet.

"Rotten kids!" A man yelled at her, from his lawn. "Where is that little brat's parents?"

Behind her, Elliott growled menacingly. "No, Elliott, don't!" She begged, sobbing. This made the townspeople laugh even more at her expense.

"A homeless kid who talks to herself?" A teenage girl roared with laughter. "This is priceless!"

"Someone should be videoing this!" Her friend agreed loudly.

"Leave me alone!" She begged, crying. The people laughed harder at this, and she felt a jab to her heart, as she sobbed and ran the other direction, away from those horrible, horrible people. She ran through the streets and out of town. She ran for a long time on the rocky roads, her eyes blurry and burning with tears as she sobbed.

She had no idea where she was going, and she didn't care, but she knew it had to be far, far away from that wretched town. Were people really that horrible? Had she really forgotten what the real world was really like? Was life outside the farm just as bad as it was inside the farm? It wasn't at all the picture her mother had painted for her in story books, about princesses and people helping other people. Passamaquoddy was _mean_, rotten, and nasty. It wasn't at all what she had imagined a small town being. It wasn't friendly, cookie baking, chattering and happy singing. It was a nightmare.

Finally, when her legs were burning and her lungs ached, she collasped on a sandy shore of a beach. It was empty and bleak, with waves crashing loudly to the shore. It looked like she felt; cold and desolate, alone from everyone and everything of the world around her. Nothing existed in this moment; just her and her loneliness. Giselle just sobbed outwardly, putting her hands over her eyes.

Elliott materialized next to her, sympathy written all over his kind face. She threw her arms around him, crying. "Oh, Elliott! I just don't u-understand!" She wept. "W-what did I even d-do?"

Elliott tried to soothe her, wrapping his tail around her to pull her in tighter. She just sobbed into his big belly, letting all the tears escape. "I was laughed right out of town!" She sobbed. "I'm so embarrassed!" Elliott shook his head. "I don't care if I shouldn't feel embarrassed; I just do, okay, Elliott?!"

Giselle tore herself from him, and sat a few yards away. He shrunk away from her, and sat sadly on the shore. Tears choked her words, making her next words almost impossible to utter. "I just want my mom and dad back, Elliott." She whispered. "I want them back so bad. They would _know _what to do. They _always _knew what to do." She closed her eyes, and sighed heavily.

The two friends sat in silence, watching the sun sink below the churning waters of a bleak and unforgiving sea. The sky was growing darker, and Giselle found her eyelids heavy. "W-we should find somewhere to rest." She muttered, heaving herself to her feet, her legs still feeling like pudding underneath her. Elliott wrapped his tail around her waist to support her, as she scanned the area around them. A series of caves on the other side of the beach caught her eye, and she pointed them out.

"That should be fine...for now." She decided, sighing heavily. Elliott agreed in his strange tongue, and helped her stagger unsteadily to the dark caves.

Her head throbbed, every inch of her body ached, and her pride, which had been so inflated earlier, was diminished back to a pile of nothing. Her self esteem was even lower. She felt awful, rotten, worthless. Like all those years of the Gogans telling her what a worthless little brat she was were true, after all. No number of Elliott's coaching and encouraging words in her ears could lift her bleak and miserable spirits.

The inside was bleak and miserable looking, but Giselle felt surprisingly safe in it's rocky walls. It was certainly nice than the postcard town she had encountered earlier; a town so pretty, with people so rotten. It was a sad sight, really.

Exhaustion was sinking it's vicious claws into her flesh now, and fatigue was weighing down on her limbs. She crawled her way atop a large rock, curling up on her side. "I'm exhausted." She admitted, softly, and yawning loudly. "It's time for bed...good night, Elliott."

Elliott hummed her to sleep, curled next to her rocky bed, as all of her worries and fears slipped quietly and uneventfully into the pitch black of a dreamless sleep.


	3. Nora

Giselle woke to the sound of crashing waves outside the cave. Her body was sore from the rock she had slept on, but her mind seemed surprisingly clear. Elliott was still asleep, curled up and snoring by her side. She smiled at the sight of her best friend, and rolled to lay on her back. She pushed her coppery curls from her eyes.

She reached into her front shirt pocket, and pulled out a photo folded many times. Careful hands unfolded it, and looked upon the faded faces of her family.

Her father, strong and kind Patrick O'Reilly. Copper hair much like hers, curly and unkempt, a crooked smile on his face. His arm was around a thin, but very pregnant woman with dark auburn hair. Her smile was bright white, and genuine, and she was Giselle's mother Katherine O'Reilly. Perched on her hip was a tiny girl with deep red curls, a cherub face and a toothy grin, Hannie O'Reilly.

Standing in front of their parents was nine year old with the same copper curls as Giselle, grinning widely was her older sister Molly O'Reilly. A small girl was perched on her back, arms around her big sister's shoulders. The face was familiar, with a big and wide smile and sparking blue eyes.

It was a five year old Giselle O'Reilly.

The photograph was taken just a few weeks before the accident. She lost the entire smiling bunch to burning metal and smoking leather, shipped off to a cold stone orphanage, drained of all love and affection. From there, she was taken to the Gogan farm. And now, alone in a darkened cave.

It seemed like her life was always moving. More often than not, in a bad direction. But, for the first time since the accident, she felt as if something _good _had finally happened to her. It was almost as if...she had awoken from a horrible dream and everything was finally different than it had been.

She sat up, and stretched her arms above her head, yawning loudly. "Good morning, Elliott." She smiled. Her dragon peeked through one eye, and mumbled a morning greeting happily. She rolled on her side. "I thought we could just hang out here for the day." She smiled. "Or for the rest of my life." She added, in a mumble.

Her dragon gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm kidding!" She forced a giggle, but he wasn't convinced. "I mean, maybe I'm not, but it's not like I had a ton of places to go in the first place." She scoffed. "I'm a ten year old orphan on the run…there's only so many places I can hide!"

Elliott had to agree with her on that. So, they spent the day lurking in the cave, or right at the mouth. Her dragon flew out twice to gather apples from the wild orchard by the farm, and returned with an armful. Apples were starting to tire, but it was food, so she didn't complain.

That night, Elliott started a fire, and they sat together and talked for a few hours. Finally, Giselle crawled onto his stomach to sleep, letting herself blackout into another night of blissful, dreamless sleep.

In the morning, as the sunrise bled out on the rocking waves, Giselle ate a few apples and decided to rinse herself off. She dunked herself under the waves, rubbing her face under the water. She submerged herself several times, until her skin wasn't smudged and covered in dirt or blood. She laid herself out on a sun bleached rock to dry out, and once her curls were bouncy and dry once more, decided to pop back into the town to explore.

This time, Giselle kept her head down, and did everything to keep herself from being noticed. No one really paid her any mind this trip, just minding their own business and shopping in the market, or chatting among themselves. She slipped into the playground unnoticed, blending in with no problem alongside the other children giggling and running about.

She was just a shadow as she slithered onto the swing set, and began to kick herself towards the clouds. With no other child paying her any mind, she was free to let her mind wander freely; back to sun drenched times filled with laughter, lounging in the meadows around their house with her family. Laughter and fun that she missed, that would always be treasured in her heart.

Time passed around her. Children played, fought, chased, hugged and chatted around her, and their life cycle went on as if she wasn't even there. As time wore on, kids flitted off to home, with Giselle stuck in another dimension, away from all the hectic hustle and bustle of the real world.

By the time the sun started to sink in the sky, the remaining kids on the playground scampered off when their parents called them. She watched as parents held their children's hands, and went in the direction of their houses. They'd all eat a meal together, and the parents would dote upon their kids, treasure their company.

Giselle's heart hurt. The kind of aching pain that followed from heart break-no, from heart obliteration. She just looked straight ahead, kicking the ground harder so she'd swing higher. Tears burnt her eyes, as she saw the happy images of her own loving family dancing and singing, just like they always used to do, before her watery eyes.

It was at least a few minutes before Giselle realized she wasn't the only one on the playground. When she finally dug her heels into the ground to stop herself and catch a breathe, she breathed heavily for a few moments before looking up to see a kind looking woman with brown hair standing there, looking at her with curiosity. Giselle didn't know what to say. "Well, hello there." The woman said kindly, approaching her. Giselle just looked back at her, her legs surprisingly numb. "I'm sorry. I was just finishing some business in town, and I couldn't help but notice that you were all by yourself over here."

"I-" Giselle stammered, her throat dry. "I...I don't mind."

"I don't mind being alone, either." The woman smiled. "Every once and a while. Helps to clear the head, doesn't it?" Giselle didn't say anything. "You probably should head back home, now. It's getting dark. Your parents are probably starting to worry about you already."

Giselle burst into tears. The woman looked concerned, and came closer. "Oh, what's the matter?" She asked, genuinely concerned. Then, she finally got a good look at Giselle. Her tattered clothing. Her dusty, unkempt appearance. A sort of realization slowly dawned in her eyes. "Where are your parents, sweetie?"

"I-I..." Giselle whispered. "I...I lost...I lost them."

The woman's face softened. "I see." She replied, sadly. "Well. Do you have someone you're staying with?" Giselle shook her head. "You're on your own?"

"Yes." She muttered, shuffling her feet in the ground. The woman smiled.

"What's your name?" She asked, softly.

"Giselle."

The woman smiled. "Well, I'm Nora. I live in the lighthouse just outside of town. See?" She pointed to the town's horizon, and Giselle could see a bright light in the distance. Giselle actually remembered seeing it by the cave she had been sleeping in the past two days. "If you don't have anywhere else to go...I wouldn't mind if you spent the night with me."

Giselle didn't say anything, so the woman stepped forward, and held out one hand. There was a slight push, like someone invisible gently coaxing her to take Nora's hand. Elliott's reassuring voice clicked and hummed in her ear, encouraging her. "Um." She whispered, shifting nervously. "I guess so..." She stepped forward, finally taking the kind woman's hand. Nora gripped her hand comfortingly, and they walked off of the playground together. The small girl turned to look back, where Elliott was silently following them.

At the lighthouse, the kind Nora had drawn a bath up, and given Giselle a nightgown of hers to wear, taking her old clothes somewhere. Then, she put on a kettle for tea, and got her some food from a big silver pot on the iron stove. "We always have more leftovers than we can handle." She smiled, as she ladled a heaping amount of clam chowder into a bowl. "It's just me and my dad in this old lighthouse...so, help yourself to as much as you'd like. Plenty more what that came from."

"Thank you." Giselle muttered, softly. Nora just nodded, smiling warmly at the young girl. She finished the tea, and poured two steaming cups, pulling a chair up for herself across from the girl.

They sat in silence for a few moments, as Giselle ate the chowder as quickly as she deemed appropriate, without seeming like a pig in front of the kind woman. Nora just felt a pang in her heart. When was the last time the poor child had anything to eat? Being homeless had not treated her well; she was very skinny, and her face was pale, almost sickly looking. "How is it?" She asked, softly.

Giselle swallowed. "It's very good." She replied, softly. "Thank you, Nora."

"You're most welcome." The lighthouse keeper smiled back. "Also, I hope you don't mind, but I threw your old clothes out. They looked terribly out of shape. We'll have to look in the storage to see if we can't find something for you to wear until we can get you some new ones."

"Oh, please don't go through that kind of trouble for me." Giselle fretted, biting her lip.

Nora shook her head. "Don't you worry about a thing." She assured her. "It's no trouble at all. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like." She noticed Giselle's empty bowl. "I'll refill this for you. Drink your tea; be careful, it's still hot." When she sat back down, she sipped her own tea. "So. How old are you?"

"I turned ten years old in June." She whispered.

"And you live by yourself?"

Giselle bit her lip. "I manage."

Nora smiled sadly. "Still...you must be terribly lonely."

"It's not so bad." Giselle admitted, shrugging. "It's better than...well, it's better than other things. I'm never really alone, anyway. I have Elliott." Nora nodded, but her face looked puzzled. "He's my dragon." Giselle explained, softly. "He's been looking out for me for a while now. He's the only friend I have, really."

She smiled. "Well, it's always nice to have a friend looking out for you." She smiled. "It can't be easy, wandering around on your own."

Giselle shrugged, and smiled. "As long as we're together…" She admitted slowly. "I know that everything is gonna turn out alright. As long as he's by my side." She stifled a yawn.

"You're exhausted." Nora fretted. "Come along; there's a nice, warm bed upstairs for you. I made it up especially with you in mind. Come on, not another word about it!" She helped the girl up the iron spiral staircase, and tucked her into a metal four poster with white sheets and a colorful quilt.

She got her settled, and kissed her forehead. The young girl yawned again, closing her eyes and lying on the pillow. "Thank you for being so nice to me, Nora." Giselle sighed, as she drifted to sleep.

Nora's heart ached. "You're welcome, sweetheart." She whispered, even if Giselle couldn't hear her. "Sweet dreams." She disappeared down the stairs, humming to herself.


End file.
